Marcello Mastroianni is the picture of continental cool in this 1960 comedy, but the story belongs to the women. Adua and her Friends is a comedy about Roman prostitutes who open a bordello in the countryside disguised as a trattoria. Simone Signoret plays the cynical yet soulful mistress of the house in Eve Arden mode; director Antonio Pietrangeli achieves beautiful cinematic moments in luminous black and white, and the jazz score sets a louche, sophisticated tone.
